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But it's been worse, and much worse. The index is still above its 15-year average of -8, and it's far better than its all-time low, -50, recorded shortly after the last recession.

 Interactive Explainer of GDP

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the country's gross domestic product grew in the second quarter at its weakest rate in eight years, just barely averting negative growth.

The ABC/Money index includes public ratings of the economy, the buying climate and personal finances, and it's the first two indicators that are hurting. For the third straight week a majority of Americans rate the national economy negatively — 51 percent say it's in bad shape, compared to just 29 percent in January. And just 41 percent say now's a good time to buy things, down six points since the start of the year, and down three points this week alone.

 Interactive Guide to the Economy

But ratings of personal finances continue to have a moderating influence. Sixty-four percent rate their own finances positively, just six points below its record high. In contrast, positive ratings of the buying climate and the economy are 16 and 31 points below their peaks, respectively.

Positive Ratings of the Economy
	8/26/01	1/7/01	Record high	15-year average
National Economy	49%	71%	80%	42%
Buying Climate	41%	47%	57%	38%
Personal Finances	64%	66%	70%	57%

The index lay in a slump from the end of April through mid-July, hovering between +1 and +4. It then inched above +4 for five weeks, before backsliding.

It's had a tough year: The index fell seven points in one week in January (tying the one-week record), six points in one week in February, five points in one week in March and another five points in one week in April.

ABCNEWS/Money Index
Today	+ 2
Aug. 12	+ 7
May 27, 2001	+ 1
Jan. 7, 2001	+23
2001 Average	+8
Jan. 16, 2000	+38 Record high
2000 average	+29  Best full year
1992 average	- 44  Worst full year
Feb. 9, 1992	- 50  Record low
Average since 12/85	- 8

A Closer Look

As usual, confidence is higher among better-off Americans. The index is +30 in higher-income households compared to -52 in the lowest, +17 among college graduates but -37 among high-school dropouts, +6 among whites but -30 among blacks and +10 among men while -5 among women.

Here's a closer look at the three components of the ABCNEWS/Money index:

  NATIONAL ECONOMY — Forty-nine percent of Americans rate the nation's economy as excellent or good, up one point from last week. The best was 80 percent Jan. 16, 2000. The worst was 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.

  PERSONAL FINANCES — Sixty-four percent rate their own finances as excellent or good, down two points from last week. The best was 70 percent, set Aug. 30, 1998, and last matched in January 2000. The worst rating was 42 percent on March 14, 1993.

  BUYING CLIMATE — Forty-one percent say it's an excellent or good time to buy things they want and need, down three points from last week. The best was 57 percent on Jan. 16, 2000. The worst was 20 percent in fall 1990.

Methodology

The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index represents a rolling average based on telephone interviews with about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. This week's results are based on 1,015 interviews in the month ending Aug. 26 and have an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The question on expectations was conducted among 509 respondents Aug. 1-12; that result has a 4.5-point error margin. Field work was conducted by ICR-International Communications Research of Media, Pa.

The ABCNEWS/Money index is derived as follows: The negative response to each index question is subtracted from the positive response to that question. The three resulting numbers are then added and divided by three. The index can range from +100 (everyone positive on all three measures) to -100 (all negative on all three measures). The survey began in December 1985.

Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.